Nick Denton

“Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men the most.”
― F. B. Jevons, A History Of Greek Literature: From The Earliest Period To The Death Of Demosthenes

“Madness is rare in individuals—but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule,”
― Peter Thiel, Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future

“Think, too, of the great part that is played by the unpredictable in war: think of it now, before you are actually comitted to war. The longer a war lasts, the more things tend to depend on accidents. Neither you nor we can see into them: we have to abide their outcome in the dark. And when people are entering upon a war they do things the wrong way round. Action comes first, and it is only when they have already suffered that they begin to think.”
― Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War

“Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
― Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War